Reopening of Chinese apple market is welcome news for growers

Published January 15, 2011
Over the past 25 years, 130,000 acres of orchards have been replanted in Washington State, requiring a total investment of $1.7 billion, estimates Tim Smith, Washington State University Extension educator in north central Washington.

Sometimes, the trees grew well and recouped the investment, but occasionally they [...]

The down economy has had a ripple effect on the wine grape industry. Fewer restaurant meals and reduced entertaining budgets have slowed wine sales, backed up inventories, and bankrupted some wineries and distributors. All too often, growers who delivered grapes in good faith are being paid slowly, and, sometimes, [...]

Kit Galvin of the University of Washington explains how she is studying the health impacts of platform work. Rolf Luehs (on the platform), research assistant with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, demonstrates how workers wear monitors to measure their body movements and heart rate.

There is great concern and interest in what the outcome of the midterm elections means for agricultural employers. We know there will be both opportunities and real concerns with the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives relative to issues such as immigration, AgJOBS, foreign trade, and farm [...]

Imagine a crop without worries of labor, pests, rain during harvest, and rising fertilizer costs. In the near future, there’s potential for such a crop, and it’s one that most growers could produce with little impact on [...]

This stunted apple tree, which has a large basal canker, is in an orchard where the grower used glyphosate alone three to four times a year to control weeds. Cuts on the margin of the canker show healthy green tissue.

Growers often express concern that a herbicide program using glyphosate [...]

Young trees can show injury after glyphosate application the previous year. One symptom of glyphosate damage is small spindly leaves that look like zinc deficiency. Shoot tips die so you get clustered growth.

The Center for Produce Safety held its first produce research symposium in June to review projects it has sponsored.

Chris Schlect, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council and a member of the CPS’s advisory board, said the research is designed to answer real-world questions that will help the produce industry [...]